Hi, I have been reading up on the problem that I have with my computer not recognizing most of the newer anime Blu-rays that I own and have not found much about it. The only thing that I can think of that may fix it is to get a different blu-ray software package like PowerDVD or something. My question is, will PowerDVD recognize my newer anime Blu-rays or will I just be throwing my money away? (Note that some of the BDs have been out for quite some time now, like Clannad and Full Metal Panic).

I have a Sony VAIO Model: VPCEF47FX
the BD drive is the one that came factory installed (Pioneer BD Drive or something?) (Not sure where to find more info on it honestly)
Operating system is Windows 7
Blu-ray software installed: Corel WinDVD, and AnyDVD HD.

One of the main reason's that I am curious about finding new/better software for reading Blu-rays is because AnyDVD HD is not working as well as it used to. (I can still read the same old discs that I have already backed up, so I know its not the BD Drive acting up, or the laser burning out I don't think). My computer does not even recognize some of the discs at all. One thing that I have found as a fix to some of the Blu-rays is that if I disable AnyDVD HD and then open the Blu-ray in Corel WinDVD player that my computer will be able to recognize the Blu-ray that way. Once that is done, I can then turn on AnyDVD HD and it will recognize the disc and allow me to back it up that way after closing out Corel WinDVD.

The main question that I have here, and assuming that I haven't forgotten or missed something is: will PowerDVD be able to play the Blu-rays that Corel WinDVD is unable to play or will I just be throwing $100 down the drain?

Also, Has Slysoft been slacking off with updating their software or whats the deal with it?

Sounds like a conflict between the two. You could go into settings and prevent WinDVD from loading its service automatically at bootup. If there's no way to do it in settings, try Start -> Run ->msconfig and stop it from loading at bootup that way.

WinDVD and PowerDVD both are what I would call "POS compliant". If you don't know what POS means, then the Urban Dictionary website can help you. Or to put it another way, yes you're wasting your money if you buy PowerDVD but you ALREADY wasted it on WinDVD, unfortunately.

Arcsoft's TotalMedia Theater is the ONLY DVD/BD playing software worth purchasing. You'd be better off if you had it instead of WinDVD.

AnyDVD is known to interfere with some programs. I've never had any problem with TotalMedia Theater when leaving it running. Your most cost effective solution would be to just turn off AnyDVD as necessary and start it when you need it.

Sounds like a conflict between the two. You could go into settings and prevent WinDVD from loading its service automatically at bootup. If there's no way to do it in settings, try Start -> Run ->msconfig and stop it from loading at bootup that way.

I looked and it doesn't even show up on any of the lists in msconfig so I don't think it loads at bootup.

WinDVD and PowerDVD both are what I would call "POS compliant". If you don't know what POS means, then the Urban Dictionary website can help you. Or to put it another way, yes you're wasting your money if you buy PowerDVD but you ALREADY wasted it on WinDVD, unfortunately.

Arcsoft's TotalMedia Theater is the ONLY DVD/BD playing software worth purchasing. You'd be better off if you had it instead of WinDVD.

AnyDVD is known to interfere with some programs. I've never had any problem with TotalMedia Theater when leaving it running. Your most cost effective solution would be to just turn off AnyDVD as necessary and start it when you need it.

I didn't buy WinDVD it came with the computer. With some of the newer Blu-rays like "Angel Beats" or "Redline" it doesn't matter if I have AnyDVD HD enabled or not, the computer does not recognize anything in the disc. Will TotalMedia Theater fix this problem?

Last edited by MrRed; 25th Jun 2014 at 14:47.
Reason: Remembered how to use the quote feature.

I went ahead and paid for TotalMedia Theatre and was able to access some of the Blu-rays that I have never been able to on my computer. I do think that my BD drive in my laptop is on its way out though because in order for it to read Clannad I had to take a cloth to the laser and clean it first. I Will probably save up and get a new external drive eventually.

Thanks for the recommendation, and I will keep Corel WinDVD as a backup just in case, even if it is "POS Compliant" lol.

I've always had bad luck with laptop drives. Even when I don't use them, they seem to quit on me. If you access your BD discs where you can use a external BD player/burner, that may be your best solution.

TMT works very well for playback, just a bit pricey for me. I use the freeware VSO player. No menus, but it plays well enough.

If you access your BD discs where you can use a external BD player/burner, that may be your best solution.

I think that's what I will have to do in the near future.

Originally Posted by redwudz

I use the freeware VSO player. No menus, but it plays well enough.

Never heard of that one before, if I didn't already pay for TotalMedia Theatre I would try it out. One that I have messed around with a little is XBMC (Xbox Media Center) for the PC. It doesn't have menus either for Blu-rays, and you have to have AnyDVD HD running or have the files on your computer but if you have a lot of movies backed up, it will allow you to automatically download detailed info including cover art and a list of participating actors etc. I was going to organize all of the stuff I have backed up from my collection so that I could download the movie info but I pretty much gave up on that idea, it would just take too long, especially with all of the TV series that I have backed up. If there are more then one seasons in a series then simply labeling the episodes "The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya - 2nd Season - Ep01 - Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody," the search engine would not recognize that it is the second season unless it was written more like "The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya - S2E01 - Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody."

Even though it would be nice to have it all organized, unless I knew of a way to batch process all of the file names; I own over 200 anime TV shows on DVD and Blu-ray and I have better things to do with my life then organize them all lol.